Ice Hockey
Mitch Marner and the Dream That Started Outside
For Mitch Marner, the journey from outdoor rinks to the world’s biggest stages hasn’t been defined by a single moment. It’s been shaped by consistency, trust, and a love for the game.
Before the lights, before the noise, and before the weight of expectation, hockey was simple for Mitch Marner.
It lived outdoors on borrowed ice, the outdoor rinks found in backyards, parks, and anywhere space would allow. In the quiet stretch of winter afternoons and evenings, when the only thing that mattered was staying out long enough to get one more shift before it got too dark to see the puck.
Like so many kids across Canada, that’s where the game first took hold. It was never about profession or what could be; it was just something that felt right. When you ask Mitch about his earliest memories of hockey, he doesn’t point to a single moment. Instead, he describes a pattern. A family ritual built around winter.
Mitch Marner taking a break with a Red Bull
© Mark Blinch / Red Bull Content Pool
“I just remember me, my brother and dad would try to find an outdoor rink somewhere and take a hockey net with us,” he says. “We’d play for hours until it got too dark to see anything.”
Those were the hours where imagination filled the gaps. It was where kids pretended the stakes were bigger than they were and dreams felt close enough to touch. It was where the original dream of scoring in overtime of game 7 to win the Stanley Cup or representing Canada on the global stage first took root.
The belief was already there. But turning that belief into a reality is something incredibly special.
01
From Watching It to Wearing It
Growing up in Canada, there are certain hockey moments that feel woven into childhood, whether you play the sport or not. They show up every winter as you watch them with your family and you talk about them at the rink with all your friends. You imagine what it might feel like to be there one day.
Talking to Mitch about his opportunity to play on the international stage, you can hear the passion in his voice. He competed for Team Ontario at the U17 Hockey Challenge and won gold with Canada at the U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in 2014, but it was the 2016 World Junior Hockey Championships where things started to feel a bit more surreal, a bit more tied into those dreams on the outdoor rink.
Mitch Marner at an outdoor rink in Toronto
© Mark Blinch / Red Bull Content Pool
For any Canadian hockey lover, the World Juniors are a Christmas holiday season staple. “It was something you watched a lot as a kid,” he says. “Especially growing up, it was on every year.”
But pulling on that Canadian jersey didn’t erase the nerves or the awe. “Just playing for your country, everything about that was just amazing,” Mitch says. “When I put that jersey on for the first time, it felt pretty surreal.”
When I put that jersey on for the first time, it felt pretty surreal.
The results didn’t unfold the way the group hoped, something Mitch is honest about, but when you ask what stood out most from that experience, his answer isn’t tactical or reflective. It’s emotional.
“The excitement you had every time you put on that jersey,” he says. “Just the excitement of playing for your country.”
Years later, that same feeling resurfaced in a very different room at the Four Nations Face-Off in February 2025. It was a room filled with players he’d spent seasons competing against in the NHL, the best players in the world. When asked whether that environment felt surreal or strictly business, Mitch didn’t try to separate the two.
“I think it was both,” he says. “That surreal moment of seeing who’s in the locker room, who you’re playing with, who you sit beside. But at the same time, you know what you’re there for.”
What struck him most wasn’t hierarchy or star power, it was how quickly everything came together for them.
“Every single guy was there for the same reason,” Mitch says. “Regardless of who it was. And I think that’s why our group felt so knitted, so quickly.”
Watch Mitch score the overtime winner against Sweden at the Four Nations Face-Off:
02
Trusting the Game When It Speeds Up
Some moments don’t slow down the way you expect them to. Mitch talks about setting up the gold medal winning overtime goal at the Four Nations against the USA, but there’s no dramatic pause in his answer, just instinct.
“I just remember excitement,” he says with a hint of pride but a full sense of gratitude.
The play itself unfolded the way hockey always has for him. Simple decisions, quick reads, and trust - both in his game and with those around him. “I just tried to get myself to a quiet spot,” Mitch explains. “I tried to draw two guys toward me and get it on Connor’s tape, and he did the rest.”
Mitch Marner at a Red Bull photoshoot
© Mark Blinch / Red Bull Content Pool
He’s carrying that same trust into how he plans to prepare for the world’s biggest sporting stage in 2026. It’s going to be the first time in 12 years that NHL players will be available for their countries on this stage, but Mitch doesn’t plan on changing a whole lot compared to the regular season.
“I’m trying to just go in with the same mindset [as the Four Nations],” he says. “You don’t want to be too jittery or too emotional. I just think of it as another opportunity to go and play hockey. I just need to trust myself and my game.”
You’ve just got to trust your instincts.
As the global game continues to evolve, he’s realistic about what that means. “Every game’s going to be a challenge,” Mitch says. “There are so many skilled countries now. Nothing’s going to be easy.”
Experience helps, but only if it’s paired with belief. “You’ve just got to trust your instincts,” he says.
03
An Everlasting Perspective
Toward the end of the conversation, Mitch explained how he processes the magnitude of these opportunities, and his answer becomes quieter and a little more reflective. “I think just excitement,” he says. “You wait your whole life to try to be a part of something like this.”
But excitement alone isn’t what keeps him grounded, as perspective plays a very big role in how he sees things moving forward. “You’ve got to take it day by day,” he explains. “Take a step back and see where you’re at. See what your younger self would think about where you are.”
When asked what message he’d share with young players across Canada who are still chasing that first version of the dream, he doesn’t overthink it. “Just dream big,” he says. “Work extremely hard.
You’re accomplishing your dream, but you’re also accomplishing a dream that your family’s had for you for a long time.
Get into some more winter content on RBTV
There are times when things don’t feel like they’re going your way, but once you push through those hard times, you feel better about yourself and what you’re trying to accomplish.”
And for Mitch, that dream has never belonged to just one person. “Your parents and people around you sacrifice so much time,” he says. “You’re accomplishing your dream, but you’re also accomplishing a dream that your family’s had for you for a long time.”
For Mitch Marner, the journey from outdoor rinks to the world’s biggest stages hasn’t been defined by a single moment. It’s been shaped by consistency, trust, and a love for the game that never needed to change. A game that began on an outdoor rink in Canada.
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